I'm calling on the "experts" here, and when you see the object I'm talking about, you'll know why.  I'm wondering if it's at all possible, or realistic in any way, to model something like this in Blender.  Or any other software for that matter!  I don't know what the artist used to 3d print this thing, but apparently, someone somewhere actually modelled this thing.  I'm thinking the only way in heck would be to use something like Zbrush, but maybe I'm wrong.  Is there any way in Blender to do this kind of thing?  Any way to get it besides sculpting it??  I think it would make a crazy hard challenge for anyone to make without using sculpting tools.

Any ideas? hahaha.  I think it's a very cool looking lamp, but I'm most interested in how someone could actually model this thing with polygons.  I bet if it's possible, it would bring with it some very useful techniques and we'd learn a ton of new tools just getting through the steps.

OK not an expert in no way but that looks like something and I can be way off made in either TopMod or perhaps Mandelbulb 3D. TopMod which you can view the gallery and the software which is free to download here https://www.viz.tamu.edu/faculty/ergun/index.html which I have tried a few times but could never get my head around and Mandelbul which is also free and downloadable http://mandelbulb.com/2014/mandelbulb-3d-mb3d-fractal-rendering-software/ which is well discussed in our forums here and there are some great Fractal artist in our galleries here as well. I am leaning toward TopMod being the more capable for creating something to the image you included. I can not speak on if this is possible in Blender sure it is but won't commit to saying for sure. Hope this helps some in answering your question 

This is an organic version of a mathematical pattern known as a Voronoi Diagram.  It's a rather complex version of it, obviously created as a solid object for 3d printing.  Even with a sculpting application, the creation of this kind of complex object might be challenging.  I personally feel it would be harder to achieve with a sculpting application, rather than a capable polygonal modeling package.  I know it probably doesn't seem that way at first glance, but Voronoi diagrams have been a favorite area of topological exploration of mine for years.  I used to experiment with them all the time in 3dsmax, using a combination of modifiers, and Maxscript.  I have not had the opportunity or time to pursue shapes like this yet in Blender, but that's certainly on my radar.

That said, it's actually easy to achieve something very similar to this in Blender or any other full-featured modeling package, with the right direction and knowledge of the tools.  Blender Sushi has a wonderful example of how to achieve a very similar structure, using their proprietary Blender format.  Have a look at this page:

http://blendersushi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/vfx-voronoi-cage.html

Scroll down a little, and you'll immediately see a cube which very closely resembles the object in your photo, and they achieved it with Blender using the Blender Cell Fracture tool, and Skin Modifier.  They give a detailed, and nicely illustrated example of how to do it.  Keep in mind that Blender Sushi has a much different UI and hotkey setup compared to vanilla Blender, but the tools they use are all available for the standard Blender as well.

Following their guidance on that page should lead you in the right direction to achieving this very beautiful and complex object, and show you how to do the same effect on a variety of different shapes as well.  Good luck!

Here's the steps on how to achieve this in Blender.

1. Cell Fracture (any setting as you please).
2. Remove Doubles (adjust the merge of vertices, this help to clean things for Skin Modifier)
3. Skin Modifier
4. Smooth Modifier

No matter which version of Blender you are using, this process should be quite self-evident, and well within the grasp of any intermediate Blender user.  I believe the object in your photo was created using Grasshopper for Rhino, or some other Nurbs-based mathematical modeling software, but it's entirely possible in Blender using polygons, with the right combination of addons and modifiers. The results may not be exact, depending on how you decide to fracture the object, but you should be able to come quite close.

Well i am really glad now I said I was not sure just teasing thanks for chiming in LuxXeon taking a look at the link myself and Wow looks like something truly challenging to try 

Well i am really glad now I said I was not sure just teasing thanks for chiming in LuxXeon taking a look at the link myself and Wow looks like something truly challenging to try 

I'm actually quite surprised, after reviewing the technique they have laid out at Blender Sushi, just how easily something like this can be done in Blender.  The trick is the Fracture tool, and choosing a fracture type which will correspond with the Voronoi style you're trying to achieve.  The elegance in combining the skin modifier with smoothing is impressive though, and a great way to achieve the interwoven, internal framework. It's understandable to immediately think of Topmod when it comes to shapes like this; it was used heavily early on in the evolution of 3d printing because of it's dual-manifold, water-tight modeling functions.  Topmod was used often in symmetrical math modeling because of it's unique ability to create beautifully curved bridge connections between faces, using a very clever Hermite curve shape interpolation feature, which isn't found in any other software I now of.  All of this considered, however, Topmod is a very old, outdated, and highly specialized application  While Topmod can do some wonderful curved bridge operations, it's painfully slow at other common modeling tasks, and its strengths in maintaining watertight geometry can actually become a weakness, making it very impractical for 99% of the most common modeling requirements.  Even the re-meshing functions it's widely known for, which can help the user create unique topology patterns in the mesh, can be done through the combination of certain modifiers in software like Blender or 3dsmax.  I actually consider Wings3d to be a more complete manifold modeling package, with a vastly wider range of tools and practical capabilities.  That said, it should be known that there's very few things, if any at all, which Topmod can do beyond the scope of Blender, or any advanced polygonal modeling package, just the same.

I have not explored or used the Skin modifier with in Blender or the fracture tool but looking at the tutorial in the link you posted has given root to something I might want to try and use what I come up with something else I did before with something I had modeled in Wings and then rendered with in Bryce to create a different look. 

That's real cool. I would have never figured it out.  I gave it a quick try myself, and came up with something pretty cool, but I'm not exactly sure how to use the fracture tool to the best of it's capability yet, so I'm sure I could get better results eventually.  Great stuff.

Also, speaking of Wings3d, the Manifold Lab version, which is Wings3d on steroids, is famous for having tools to create these kinds of cool models also.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/56147717/freely-donate.html

I figured this was possible in Blender, but I just wouldn't have known how to do it.

WOW!  I'm so surprised by this!  No way in heck did I think this was something that could be done in Blender, or any regular modelling software.  Seeing how they made it on that page with some modifiers is just amazing.  Thanks for pointing this out, guys!  I'm gonna read up on this, and experiment a little.

There used to be a program for POV-Ray in the 90s called POV-Foam, which made thousands of bubbles to fill a volume, spread over a surface or float in the atmosphere. You could get a long way there simply by filling a cube with foam or blobs. Maybe a couple sets like that, a few booleans, you're just about there.

There used to be a program for POV-Ray in the 90s called POV-Foam, which made thousands of bubbles to fill a volume, spread over a surface or float in the atmosphere. You could get a long way there simply by filling a cube with foam or blobs. Maybe a couple sets like that, a few booleans, you're just about there.

I never used Pov, but I know there's a Blender addon for it.  I actually came really close by following the tutorial presented earlier in this thread.  The results were surprisingly good, and the mesh was nice and clean.  Thanks very much for the reply!